Kibbles'n Bits!
by Phyre Melody
Summary: [Ghost Hunters] A fun little story about an original character and her experiences with TAPS. Rated for language and future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my original character.

Feedback is appreciated!

* * *

I was tossing around in a restless sleep in an unfamiliar bed and unfamiliar room. Images flashed through my head. Fleeting. Terrifying. Taunting. There was a feeling that something was chasing me, but my legs turned to jelly when I tried to run. There. A doorway. I reached for the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. Then, a presence of evil behind me. It was the one keeping me there. It wanted me. It wanted my soul. It wanted to possess me. But I wouldn't let it--

I awoke abruptly to the sound of something heavy crashing to the ground. Panting, I sat up and looked over to the other bed in the hotel room. The nightlight shone enough for me to see that the covers were hanging off of the side and a foot was sticking up. I blinked in sleepy-eyed confusion until I realized what had happened.

"You OK, Kris?" I asked the other girl. The foot came down and then Kris's head appeared over the top of the mattress. I couldn't help but laugh. She looked sheepishly at me and then started to get up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not used to sleeping on a twin," she said. I glanced over at the clock. 4:30.

"Get some sleep and try not to fall this time, you klutz," I teased. Kris stuck her tongue out and settled back into her bed. I lay staring up at the ceiling trying to fall back asleep.

Anyway, I should introduce myself. My name is Felina Castillo. I'm 23, and I've been with TAPS for a while now. I first met Jason, Grant, Brian, and Steve about three years ago when they had come to investigate my aunt's house in Cranston. I had been part of a local ghost hunting group at the time, and TAPS let me join in on some of the investigation. After that, we kept in touch and eventually they asked me to join TAPS. They became a second family to me.

When I'm not with TAPS, my cousins Britta, Angela and I run our own fashion shop called Tres Chicas. We were always flipping through fashion magazines growing up together, so naturally Britta designs her own dresses, I make jewelry, and Angela, who's pretty good with photography, takes care of advertising and is even the editor of a local (you guessed it) fashion magazine that sometimes features our merchandise.

Right now we were doing an investigation in a Texas residence. The owners had been experiencing cold spots and seeing shadows moving across the wall. It had been an overall interesting case with a lot of personal experiences. We certainly got a lot of isolated cold spots, which Tango kept complaining that they were hovering around his butt. We totally got video of Steve trying to feel around for the cold spot and having to actually put an EMF detector to Tango's butt. A hot 5.8, baby!

A sudden knock at the door woke me up. Grumbling, I got up and opened it to see Steve and Tango. I glared in a sleepy sort of way. They both smirked at the sight of me.

"Hey, sleepyhead, you and Kris wanna grab some breakfast before we start on work?" Steve asked. I yawned.

"Sure. We'll be out in a few." I shut the door in their faces and grinned when I heard them making comments at me through the door. I went and jumped on Kris's bed. She groaned in protest and tried to hide under the blankets. "Come on! Wakey, wakey! If I have to get up, so do you!" I threw the blankets off of her and then went to take a shower. I could hear Kris still mumbling sleepily. I blinked and then stuck my head out of the bathroom.

"Did you just call me Professor?!"

* * *

After breakfast we headed back to the hotel for analysis. Steve had a stack of sugary pancakes for breakfast, so it didn't make analyzing any easier for the rest of us. 

"Hey, Felina." Poke.

"In a minute," I said. I finished the piece of audio I was listening to and marked down the time.

"Felina." Poke. I ignored Steve and kept writing.

"Hey, Fee!" Poke, poke. I took the tape out of the player and put it back in its case.

"Felinaaaaa!" Poke, poke, poke, poke—

"WHAAAT?!" I yelled, making Kris and Tango jump. Steve just looked at me, unfazed.

"Can I borrow a pen?" I did a classic "headdesk" maneuver. This was gonna be a looong day.

* * *

"Hey guys, what have you got for us?" said Grant. Grant and Jason came to stand behind us at the table. 

"Well, we've got a few clips and EVP's we'd like to show you," said Steve. "The first one is sort of for laughs. Me and Tango were following a cold spot. I'll let it just speak for itself."

* * *

_Steve and Tango slowly moved their arms about the room, trying to find the cold spot that had been in the room._

"_0.2…0.3…Oh, it jumped up to 2.1," Steve said, reading the EMF detector. He reached his hand out. "Right here. Oh, wait, it moved."_

_Tango suddenly jerked his hips forward._

"_Dude! It just got really cold on my ass!" he whispered. Steve turned to look at him._

"_Are your pants on?"_

"_Dude, I'm serious! My ass is totally freezing!" Tango put both of his hands on his rear end._

"_I can't believe I'm doing this," said Steve, holding the EMF detector over Tango's butt. "4.5…5.1…5.8…dude…your ass is haunted."_

* * *

Jason and Grant were rolling in laughter. 

"That's classic," Jay said in between bouts of laughter.

"I can see it now," said Grant. He drew his finger across his chest as if writing something. "'Tango got EMFed by Steve and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.'" We all laughed.

"Moving on now…the next few pieces of evidence I think are gonna be pretty hard to debunk." Steve played the next video clip and Jason and Grant leaned in to get a better look.

"What the frig?"

* * *

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

"What the frig?!" said Grant. Everyone watched as Steve replayed the clip.

_One of the infrared cameras had been set up in the master bedroom. The camera showed Kris and me walking around for a few minutes, and then we started back out into the hallway. Both of our backs were turned when one corner of the bed quickly dipped down as if someone had jumped on it._

"What?" said Grant in disbelief. "No way!"

"And you guys didn't hear that?" Jason asked me and Kris. We shook our heads.

"We would have heard the bedsprings, but it was quiet," said Kris.

"I'll do it frame-by-frame," said Steve. He did so and then looked up at Jay and Grant. "No tricks this time. One fluid motion." Everyone exchanged awed glances.

"Jackpot!" said Tango.

"Heck yes!" I said triumphantly. We exchanged high-fives with those nearest to us.

"OK, so what do we got next?" asked Jason.

"This next one is from the thermal that you guys caught." Steve showed the clip of a small red dot moving from one side of the screen to another.

"Bug," said Grant. Jason nodded in agreement.

"The next one is an EVP caught in the living room," said Steve. He highlighted one spot and then played it. We heard Tango and Kris talking and then an unusual sound. Everyone turned to look at Steve. After a few moments, Steve finally looked up to see everyone staring at him. "What?"

"Play it after the highlighted part," said Tango, looking amused. Steve did so and everyone heard Tango's voice say "Yeesh! Gotta lay off the Pepsi." Steve turned red.

"Well…here's another EVP that Kris and Felina got in the master bedroom." We listened to it, but it sounded somewhat mumbly.

"The first word sounds like…No," said Grant.

"Yeah, it does," I agreed. "And it sounds like three more syllables after that. We wanted to see what you guys thought." Steve looped it.

"I'm hearing 'goose' in there," said Jason.

"Yes, it's 'goo'-something," Kris piped in. "Maybe it's…No more…'goo'-something."

"It kind of sounds like 'No more gooey stuff,'" said Tango. We stared at him blankly. Steve snorted at that and started repeating the phrase over and over like a tongue twister. Jay and Grant gave him weird looks. Great…he's still hyper.

"No more gooey stuff! No more gooey stuff! Nomoregooeystuff! No mo' gooeystuff! Nomogoostuff!" Steve spewed out happily. Suddenly, everything clicked in my mind.

"DUDE!" I shot up out of my chair. Tango and Steve flinched away from me. "That's it! Texas! Used to be part of Mexico! They spoke Spanish! It's saying 'No me gusta'!" Everyone stared at me in silence as the EVP played on.

"Wow…that does sound like it," said Jason. "But what does that mean?"

"It means 'I don't like,' if my high school Spanish skills are correct," I said.

"Okay…but what does it not like?" asked Grant. Steve unlooped it and it clearly said now "No me gusta usted."

"Usted means you," I said. "I don't like you."

"We have two good pieces of evidence to show the owners," said Jason.

"Great! Let's head on over!" Grant said, and the two head honchos left. The rest of us sat in an awkward silence. A minute later, they came back in looking sheepish.

"Uh…bringing the evidence would help, wouldn't it?" said Jason. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"Might help a little!" Grant quipped. Steve handed them what they needed with an amused smile on his face. As they left the room again, we all applauded. Jason sent a glare back to us before shutting the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's another one! _Possible_ pairings are _possibly_ presenting themselves in this chapter! -wink-

Also, thanks to those who reviewed last chapter!

* * *

We had finished up with the Texas case and were finally heading back to Rhode Island. Steve and Tango were driving back with the two TAPS vans and the rest of us were flying back. Our flight didn't board until two hours, so we killed time by just walking around. Or trying to. I was still half asleep and every now and then someone had to steer me away from running into something. I was thankful to finally board the plane and finally get some sleep. However, we sort of had to work out seating. Our tickets had paired me with Grant and Kris with Jason.

"Let's switcheroo!" I said in a random burst of hyperness.

"Oh, but don't you want to sit with your husband?" asked someone behind me. I turned to see the flight attendant.

"Husband?" I asked incredulously. The others looked amused. I grinned at a mischievous thought in my head. "He's not my husband, he's my boyfriend. That's my husband." I pointed at Jason, who gave me a "what the freak are you doing?" look. The flight attendant gaped. I pointed at Kris. "She's my boyfriend's wife. We're all swingers!"

Grant sat in the window seat looking like he was going to laugh and cry at the same time. "Felina, you're not sitting with me. Switch with Jay."

"Ooh, kinky!" I said, and plopped down next to Kris, who was hiding her face and laughing silently. The flight attendant just closed her mouth and walked past us. It was funny because all through the flight, whenever the flight attendant would pass us, she avoided eye contact and had once witnessed Jason rubbing Grant on the knee in an attempt to freak her out. It worked. She accidentally spilled about half a can of Sprite on Grant. Pssh, yeah right. Or she just dropped the can. What made it more priceless was when Grant stood up to go clean off in the lavatory and Jason had asked if he needed help, and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. The flight attendant blanched and then high-tailed it out of there. Kris and I were practically leaning against each other and laughing at Jay and G's antics, which freaked out the lady even more. When the plane touched down at the airport and we were let off, there was no sign of that flight attendant.

"That was the weirdest flight I've ever been on!" said Grant, as we waited for our luggage in baggage claim. "Where did you come up with that, Felina?"

"I have no idea. I wasn't fully awake." I yawned. "And last night CSI was about swingers. So I put two and two together." Grant frowned.

"How does…" Jason started to say, but then exchanged glances with Grant and Kris. "…Nevermind." When Steve and Tango came to pick us up, I hitched a ride with Steve.

"How'd the flight go?" asked Steve once we hit the road again.

"It was great. We all pretended to be swingers. It was awesome." Slowly, my eyelids started to droop. Steve slammed on the brakes to avoid rear-ending the other TAPS van. He looked at me, wide-eyed.

"_What?_"

"Awesome, dude. You should've been there. Grant won the wet T-shirt contest. And a chick was totally digging us..." As I talked, my head tilted back further. The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was the touch of a finger brushing a strand of hair out of my face.

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

I was having the same dream that kept coming back to me. Something was after me, but I couldn't get away. Then a door appeared, but I couldn't open it. A cold and painful tingling ran through me, as if I had jumped into freezing water. I tried to scream but no sound would come out. I needed to get away. I had to get away, or else—

HOOOOOOONK!

I would have shot out of my seat, but my seat belt was restraining me. I frantically looked around. I saw the driver of a white sedan in front of us put his hand out the window and give Steve the middle finger.

"Damn idiot cut me off!" Steve yelled. I saw that we were about a block from TAPS headquarters. Steve looked at me. "Sorry for waking you."

"That's OK," I said, thinking back to the dream. I rubbed my arms. They had gooseflesh. I'm pretty sure Steve noticed my actions.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving me a concerned look. I looked at him, debating whether or not I should tell him.

"Well…to be honest with you..." I took a deep breath before continuing. Steve kept glancing between me and the road. "…your driving scares the crap outta me. Thank goodness we're almost at HQ." Steve laughed.

"I could take another spin around the block if you'd like," he said, showing no sign of slowing down to turn into the TAPS parking lot.

"No, I would NOT like!" I said. Steve had an evil grin on his face. My eyes widened and I hung onto the door handle for dear life. "Holy crap!"

"Just kiddin'!" Steve said, whipping into the parking lot at last minute. I let out a sigh of relief and glared at him as he parked.

"You suck." I got out of the van and headed inside. Steve followed me to where we had cubbyholes where we kept personal stuff.

"Hey, I'm leaving back for home in a few minutes and you're not gonna see me for a while. How would you feel if the last thing you said to me was 'You suck'?" he asked.

"Correct," I replied. Grant had been passing by and had heard this. He stole a glance at us and chuckled. I felt slightly justified with this action. I looked at Steve smugly, but when I saw what he was doing I backed away. "Don't. You. Even."

Have you ever had someone give you a look that was so pitiful and disgustingly adorable that all you wanted to do was go "Aww!" and give them a big bear hug, regardless of whether you were miffed with them or not?

Steve was giving me one of those looks. I had to look away.

"Alright, alright! You don't suck." I glanced at him. Puppy dog eyes were still there. "Dude, I didn't mean it. I was joking." The puppy eyes never wavered. "Steeeeve, stop it!" Kris came in at that moment to get her stuff. "Kris, make him stop doing that!" Steve focused his puppy dog eyes on Kris.

"Aww!" she said, and gave him a big hug. Over Kris's shoulder, Steve aimed his puppy dog eyes at me. Frustrated, I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the room after telling Kris goodbye. I heard footsteps following behind me and then hurried into the workroom where Tango was putting equipment up.

"Hey, Dave, need help with that?" I said, coming to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him as if it would protect me from Steve's look.

"Oh—well—I just got done and was about to go." He looked at me awkwardly. I glanced toward the door expecting to see Steve, but he wasn't there.

"Right. Well." I patted him on the back and smiled. "Take care now!"

"Yeah, you too." He said as I hurried out of the room. I'm pretty sure I just made him confused. I popped my head into the office and said goodbye to Jason and Grant. When I turned around, Steve was right there with puppy dog look in place, lip quivering. Oh crap, not the lip quiver! I threw up my hands in defeat and then gave in.

"Aww!" I said as I gathered Steve into a big bear hug. Only when he started squeezing me tighter did I let go. "Okay, there's a big difference between hugging and trying to feel my boobs." After that Steve was the one who gave me the smug smile as we said goodbye. As I headed out to the parking lot, I tried to shake the weird feeling in my stomach that Steve's hug had brought on.

* * *

The next day I showed up for work at Tres Chicas at around lunch hour. The moment I walked in the door, I heard a scream and was soon caught in the heavily perfumed embrace of my cousin Britta.

"Felina! You didn't tell me you were back!" she said. I smiled. "So, how was your trip? Did you meet anyone?" She nudged me.

"Well…there was this one guy." Britta leaned in, interested. "He was so suave, so debonair. But it wouldn't have worked out."

"What? Why?" said Britta, looking devastated. "Is he a client with TAPS or something?"

"No," I said with the straightest face I could muster. "He was the ghost." Britta stared at me like I was an idiot. Angela came back to the shop from her lunch break and saw us.

"Felinaaaaa!" She hugged me. "Why are we all standing around?"

"Because Felina's still single," Britta teased.

"Oh. Well, there's a reason for that," said Angela. Hey!!!

"Hey!!!" I said. "It's not my fault you guys keep setting me up with guys I can't click with! Which is, like, ALL of them!" I went to tidy up the register. They followed. Geez, do I have a sign on my back that says "PLEASE STALK ME"?

"You should at least try to click," Britta encouraged.

"Well, if you can't click, then you shouldn't be on the internet," I replied. My cousins exchanged looks and then rolled their eyes.

"Get to work, Castillo. You're a hopeless case," said Angela, sighing and pretending to be immensely downtrodden.

"And that's why you love me!" I shot back cheerily.

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

The following month was extra busy working at Tres Chicas. There was a special fashion convention going on in our town and we were going to have a booth set up at it. Britta and I were working overtime making dresses and jewelry to present especially for the convention. And on top of that, we had to run the shop. We were buying the finest materials we could afford to go into our work, and crossed our fingers that we would have good sales because those materials did not come cheap. I actually lost some sleep while going over in my head how much money we would lose if our stuff was a bust.

I woke up at five o'clock the day of the convention to put on make-up and dress up for the convention like I actually was fashionable while in reality I would've showed up in sweats and a baseball cap. But then Angela would've fired me. I picked up Angela and Britta along the way to the convention center. It was a tedious process setting up our booth, but eventually we had it looking nice and presentable. Once the convention opened, we were lucky to have sold about ten dresses and two dozen pieces of jewelry in two hours. How well did we do in sales? Let's just say that by the end of the day our pockets were heavier than the boxes of merchandise we had to lug back with us.

"We're in the money!" sang Britta as we walked to our car, barefoot. We agreed that our feet were killing us from standing in heels all day.

"Party at my place!" I said. And what a party it was. We broke out the wine and the chick flicks and then around midnight started spewing out nonsense due to being completely drunk. For some reason, we had the TV on a channel that was airing the second Lord of the Rings film. Angela kept giggling uncontrollably every time Legolas showed up on screen. Britta and I had taken to adding phrases with the word "gay" in them after every character's lines. We had just gotten to "Did you see two hobbits?" "They're gay hobbits!" when my phone rang. I answered with a slurred "Hello?" The other end was silent for a moment.

"Felina? Is that you? You sound drunk."

"I am," I said, giggling. The person on the other end laughed. "Who are you?"

"This is Donna. I'm calling you about another case we have, but maybe I should just call tomorrow."

"Really?" I murmured. Merry had just said a line in the movie and I quickly added "AND THEY'RE GAY TREES!" There was complete silence on the other line for a moment.

"Um…okay…I'll just call you tomorrow…after twelve."

* * *

"YOW!" I shot up out of bed and started jumping around frantically. Something cold had been put into my pants as I was sleeping. I heard laughter and turned in time to see Britta running out of my room. "BRITTA!" I pulled the bag of ice out of my pants and went running after her into the kitchen. I grabbed her arm and shoved the bag under her shirt.

"EEK!" she shrieked, and quickly fished the bag out of her shirt and threw it into the sink. She glared at me and then picked up the phone off the kitchen counter and thrust it at me. "It's Donna."

"Hey, Donna, what's up?" I said, taking the phone. Donna was laughing.

"You're crazy, Felina," she said. "Anyway, we have a new case that I think is gonna be pretty cool. Ever heard of the Bell Witch?"

"I've heard stories. Like the ghost of a witch haunting John Bell and his family," I said, pouring myself a bowl of cereal.

"Right," said Donna. "We're going to be investigating the Bell Witch Cave. There have been reports of apparitions, unexplained sounds, and poltergeist activity."

"Awesome. When are we leaving?"

"Is Friday good for you?" asked Donna.

"Yup! Count me in!" We hung up and I did a happy dance while pouring milk into my cereal.

"Was that you getting a date?" asked Angela, walking into the kitchen. I gave her a weird look.

"Uh…yeah. I'm starting a same-sex relationship with Donna," I said sarcastically.

"Hot," she replied. I blinked.

"Sometimes you worry me, Angie," I said, shaking my head.

"That's why you love me!" she replied cheerily.

* * *

"Brrr, it's freezing in here!" I said as I entered TAPS headquarters the following Friday. "Can't you guys turn up the thermostat?"

"We're leaving in half an hour! Shh! Stop whining!" Tango said, coming around the corner. Correction. Coming around the corner with a hot new haircut and a five o' clock shadow. I stared. He did _not_ look like he was twenty-two.

"Who are you and where did you put Dave Tango?" I said. Dave just laughed and gave me a hug.

"Nice to see you again, Felina!" he said.

"We've met before? Was it in a Days Inn? And was I drunk?" I joked. Dave just looked confused. I sighed. "Never mind." I followed him into the office where everyone else minus Jason and Grant was gathered and talking. There was Dustin, Steve, Brian, Donna, Tango, and me.

"Dustin!"

"Felina!" I ran over and gave Dustin a big hug. I used to have a crush on Dustin when we had first started out with TAPS. I liked him because he was nice-looking, funny, and dependable. But like all guys like that, some girl got to him before I could. So we stayed friends and now he was like a brother to me. Actually, all the TAPS guys were like brothers. Really _mean_ brothers. I think Donna would agree.

"Brian!" I totally bypassed Steve to go hug Brian. "How's the little one?"

"She's doing great. Finally walking and talking," said Brian.

"Got any pictures?" asked Donna.

"As a matter of fact, I do!" said Brian, taking out his wallet. Donna and I were hovered over Brian's shoulder, cooing at the photos of his little pride and joy when Jason and Grant walked in.

"Hey! How's it goin'?" said Grant.

"As some of you already know…or, as Donna already knows…" Jason said, nodding to Donna, who grinned. "We've come across a slight change in plans."

"We're going to a residence in Clarksville first. Then we're going to the cave," said Grant. "The homeowner has an eighteen-year-old daughter that keeps getting scratches and bruises on her. There's also the feeling of being watched, objects moving, and they have a cat that they say will start fighting with thin air. But the reason that we're making this a priority is because recently as the mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen, a fork flew out of the silverware drawer and jabbed her in the cheek and she had to get stitches."

"Whoa," said Tango.

"That's a lot of activity," said Steve.

"It is a lot of activity and that's why we brought a big team for both cases. Activity is all over those places so we can spread out," said Jason. He checked his watch. "Well, we'd better get going."

Jason, Grant, and Donna were in one van, Brian and Steve were in the tech van, and Dustin, Tango and me brought up the rear. We had decided to stop in Roanoke to spend the night, so the drive ahead was about ten hours. About five hours into the trip, I started to get restless. I was bored. I looked up at the front seat and saw that Tango was listening to music and Dustin was snacking on marshmallows while driving. I decided to mess with Tango. I pushed my fingers between the headrest and the seat and gently pulled the hair on the back of his head and pretended like I didn't do anything. He just smoothed a hand over his head. I then leaned over and started gently blowing through the cracks. The moment he started to shiver, I ducked down and pretended I was asleep, but peeked through my eyelashes to see his reaction.

"Dude!" Tango exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck and turning to look at me.

"Foof?" asked Dustin in concern with his face stuffed with marshmallow.

"Something keeps messing with my head!" said Tango. "First something messed with my hair and then I felt a breeze on the back of my neck!" Dustin just pointed at me. Tango poked me in the stomach and I squeaked. I opened my eyes and glared.

"I'm bored. Entertain me." I put on a pout much like Steve's. Tango sighed. He reached his hand behind my ear and pulled out a coin.

"Here's a quarter. Go knock yourself out," said Tango with an evil grin on his face. Dustin nearly choked on a marshmallow while laughing.

"What did you just say to me?" I lunged forward and half-tackled Tango to his seat.

"Children, children!" scolded Dustin, swatting at us with one hand.

"Agh! Stop! You're pinning me on the walkie-talkie!" said Tango. I let him go and a moment later we heard Steve's voice.

"Do I even wanna know what's going on back there?"

"Oh—sorry—you guys weren't supposed to hear that," Dustin said into the walkie-talkie.

"Wait—what's goin' on?" said Brian.

"Dustin's kinky," I said, giggling.

"Tell us something that we don't know already."

_To be continued..._


	6. Chapter 6

This is a fun little bit that I wrote while waiting for my class to start!

* * *

It was about 2:30 am when we pulled into a motel in Roanoke. Our plan was to get four rooms with two beds, but it turned out that they only had three rooms left and that some of us had to double up.

"Well that settles it," said Donna as we stood around in the lobby trying to discuss what to do. "Jay and Grant get one room, Felina and I get another, and all the rest can share."

"What?!" said Brian. "No way! I ain't sharing a bed with a guy!" Dustin wiggled his eyebrows at him and he scooted away. "How about all the married men get their own bed?" Dustin wiggled his eyebrows again. "But I'm not sharing a room with Dustin."

"Well how about this?" said Jason, rubbing his temple in annoyance. "Grant gets his own room, I get my own room, and all the rest of you get to either share one room together or sleep in one of the vans!"

"Well, I don't really care if I share a bed or not, I wanna go to sleep," Steve mumbled grouchily.

"OK, people, this is taking too long!" snapped Grant. We all looked at him with wide eyes. "Jay and I will be in one room. Four people will have to double up in a bed and two people will have their own beds. It's that simple. Now all of you pick a number between one and ten, and the two who guess the closest to the number I'm thinking get a bed to themselves." We all spewed out various numbers. In the end, Donna and Brian won their own beds. This meant that all throughout the journey to our motel room, Steve, Dustin, and Tango were debating amongst themselves who would get to sleep with me and who would have to sleep with another guy.

"This conversation would sound so perverted to an outsider," I muttered.

"Let's push the beds together!" said Dustin. I unlocked the door to our room and opened it.

"Good luck with that," I said. "These beds are friggin' HUGE!" I ran and jumped on one of the beds. It was at least a queen.

"At least the bed is big so we're not cramped together," said Tango. Dustin did his eyebrow wiggling again. "Will you stop that?!"

"I get the shower first!" I yelled, running to the bathroom with my pajamas and shower bag. I heard the guys still debating over bed partners all throughout the course of my shower. When I finally got out, I went to brush my teeth. I looked in the mirror and noticed three pairs of eyes looking at me. The only sound in the room was my toothbrush going. I turned around and fixed them with a simple eyebrow raise.

"What's up with your pajamas?" asked Dustin. I looked down. My pajamas consisted of a pink T-shirt with the words "BOW CHICKA WOW WOW" emblazoned on the front and pants that had the same words written all over them.

"You're a walking Axe commercial," said Tango. I turned and spit in the sink.

"My pajamas rock," I said defiantly. Dustin and Tango snickered. I looked at Steve. He had nodded off while sitting on the end of the bed. "And Steve didn't insult my pajamas, so I guess I'm sleeping with him."

"Nooo! I didn't mean it!" said Tango. "Don't make me sleep with Dustin!" Steve jerked awake.

"Huh? What happened?" he said. Tango kept begging.

"Pleeeease! I'll do anything! Just don't make me sleep with him!" Tango pointed at the bed where Dustin had been sitting, but he had gone into the bathroom to shower.

"OK," I said. "You can sleep with Steve!"

"No!" yelled Tango and Steve at the same time.

"Oh, for crying out loud, I'm going to sleep!" I got into the bed that Dustin had been sitting on and a moment later I found myself at the bottom of a dog pile. "EEP!" I grabbed a pillow and started hitting Steve and Tango. "Get off!"

"Kinky," said Dustin, coming out drying his hair with a towel.

"Okay," I said. "Whoever in this room is NOT on top of me at the moment gets to sleep with me!" Steve and Tango finally got off of me. "Good. Now let's get some sleep, shall we?" I turned off the lamp on my side of the bed and rolled onto my side. I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked around. Dustin wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, good grief."

_To be continued…_


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to those who reviewed so far!

* * *

It was pitch black darkness and dead silent except for the sound of my own breathing. I took a cautious step forward. The atmosphere around me illuminated slightly and I looked around to find a source of light but couldn't. Suddenly, a black mass swept by my line of vision and I turned only to see nothing but an endless expanse of eerie glowing.

And then, it suddenly got very cold. I could literally see my breath billow out in front of me. I was hit with the sudden urge to run. I didn't know where the urge came from, but I felt as if something was after me with intent to hurt me.

The light flickered and then died out and the coldness intensified. I ran blindly from nothing, feeling as if I was getting nowhere due to my legs feeling like jelly. Then, out of the darkness appeared a door. Even though it was already pitch black, I felt like darkness was engulfing me from behind. I reached for the door handle, but it _jumped_ out of my reach. I didn't want to face what was behind me. I felt evil radiating off of it, and I was so scared that I had no idea what to do next.

I felt my head turning on its own accord, against my will, until my eyes fixed upon what was behind me. I could hear a distant shriek of horror and a bang. And then I was falling through the darkness…

"FUCK!"

I scrambled up to a sitting position. I was in a cold sweat and hyperventilating. I reached over to turn on the bedside lamp, but it came on before I could reach it and I jumped back startled when I saw a tall figure standing over me. It turned out to be only Steve, but he was looking at me with wide-eyed concern and his face was pale. I looked over to where the expletive had come from and saw Tango helping Dustin get off the floor.

"What happened?" I asked. My voice was shaking uncontrollably and my throat was dry.

"I was about to ask you that," said Steve, his voice shaking slightly also. "You just woke up screaming bloody murder."

"Scared us all half to death," said Dustin, brushing himself off. "Are you okay?" I thought back to the moments just before I woke up and the fear came rolling back in.

"Oh, god," I muttered, running a hand over my face. It was completely silent and everyone was watching me and exchanging occasional glances with one another. I couldn't slow my breathing and it wasn't long until tears were streaming down my face. I shut my eyes tightly. "God, why does this keep happening?!" I felt an arm encircle me and pull me into the warmth of an embrace.

"It's alright, Felina," Steve whispered, rubbing my back soothingly. "It's just a nightmare. We're all here." I sniffled and tried to calm my breathing, but it was hard to do so with my face squashed against Steve's chest. I pulled away, wiping my eyes. The alarm clock read 5:15. We were supposed to be hitting the road at 6:30.

"Are you gonna be okay?" said Tango, handing me a bottle of water.

"Yeah," I said, accepting the bottle and taking a couple slow gulps. "I just got spooked a little." I felt eyes on me all throughout the rest of the morning, but I was glad that no one questioned me further.

* * *

I drove the van on the way to Clarksville with Dustin sitting in shotgun and Tango in the back. It was around noon time so we were going back and forth on the walkie-talkies trying to decide where to eat for lunch.

"What about McDonald's?" said Grant.

"I don't like McDonald's," I said. "Had it once, had it a million times."

"IHOP?" suggested Brian.

"Do you see that line outside?"

"Long John's?" said Dustin.

"I don't eat seafood!" said Steve.

"Hey guys, what about that roadkill deer we just passed?" said a grumpy sounding Donna. "Nothing like flattened venison."

"Yum!" said Jason in the background. It sounded like Donna hit him.

"Ooh! A Ci Ci's Pizza! Can we go? Please?" I exclaimed, sounding like a little girl.

"As long as you stay away from the arcade," said Grant.

* * *

"How're you holding up?" asked Steve as he set down his plate and sat across from me in the small booth at Ci Ci's. I gave him a small smile.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh." I looked at him. "Why?" He shrugged.

"It's just that I've never seen you freak out like that. At investigations you act professional when you have a personal experience," he said, fixing me with a concerned look again.

"I'm not professional when I sleep," I said, laughing a little. Steve didn't find it funny.

"I'm just sayin'. If you need to talk about it, I'm all ears." I sighed and bit into my pizza slice.

"I said I'm fine, Steve. It was just one of those freakish nightmares that seem real when they're not," I said. I was getting annoyed that he kept trying to bring it up.

"Would you mind telling me what they're about?" I rolled my eyes.

"What, are you a psychiatrist now?" I said.

"I'm just trying to help," said Steve.

"I don't _need_ help. There's nothing to help." Steve didn't say anything for a moment and just sat there, not touching his food. I sighed. "What?"

"I'm your friend. Just know that you can tell me things." I sighed again, this time in annoyance.

"Fine. I'll tell you something. But I have to whisper," I said. Steve leaned forward to hear me. "I'm wearing Hello Kitty underwear." Steve almost choked on his pizza and sat back in the booth, his face turning red. I smiled into my napkin.

"I…I'm not sure whether you're making fun of me, or…or propositioning me."

"Ah…" I took a long sip from my straw and saw him look as I did so. "That's for _you_ to decide." I gave him an over exaggerated wink and then got up to refill my drink. I didn't look back to see his expression, but I bet it was priceless.

_To be continued…_


	8. Chapter 8

We finally reached Clarksville at about five o' clock and checked into a hotel before heading over to the residence. Jason, Grant, and Steve headed inside to do the tour while the rest of us unloaded the equipment and then waited outside. I stood by silently as everyone else talked. I was dead tired because I had less than three hours of sleep due to me waking everyone up. I tried my hardest not to think about the nightmare because it always sent a shiver up my spine. It had been recurring for over a month now and I had no idea what twisted part of my brain it had came from. It wasn't long before Tango was nudging me with his elbow.

"Are you OK?" he asked, breaking away from the others' conversation. I just nodded. He raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"I'm tired," I said. I think I looked tired, too. I had been yawning since the moment I woke up and kept drinking caffeine while I was driving. I sidled up to Tango and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Don't mind me…going to sleep now."

"Okay," said Tango, laughing awkwardly. I stayed there for a minute and then remembered the nightmare and thought better of it.

"Well, not tired anymore!" I said, pulling away from Tango. He gave me a strange look, nodded, and then turned back to the conversation. I listened in and gawked at what they were saying.

"So the marshmallow thing works?" Brian was asking Dustin.

"Ohh, yeah, feeding them marshmallows works like a charm!" said Dustin, nodding fervently. "And the way they eat it is _so hot_." I looked at Donna to see if she could fill me in, but I saw that her face was red and she was looking embarrassed.

"And the velvet glove thing? What about that?" asked Tango. What was this, Ask Dustin?

"Oh my god, dude, buy your girlfriend some velvet gloves! They're heaven." said Dustin, grinning ear to ear. Something clicked in my head. Dustin's eggnog blog. I quickly scooted out of the circle in disgust. Donna closely followed.

"I think I need my ears cleaned out," I complained.

"I think I need my _brain_ cleaned out!" said Donna. "Guys are so _embarrassing_!" We both turned to look at the guys. They were all grinning and listening to every word Dustin had to say. We rolled our eyes.

"Wanna talk about Days of Our Lives?"

"Oooh! Let's!"

* * *

Donna and I stayed in the van monitoring the computers while the rest of the team investigated. We kept hearing a female voice on the audio in the room where Jay and Grant were, but they said that they didn't hear anyone and no one was there. Donna tried helping them on the walkie-talkie.

"Can you hear what it's saying?" asked Grant.

"No, it's sort of mumbled," said Donna. She listened to them do EVP work while I kept an eye on the video. Nothing seemed to be happening except Brian falling asleep in the master bedroom.

"Keep those eyes open, Weezy!" I said to him on the walkie-talkie. His head jerked up and Steve frowned at him and started to tell him off even though I couldn't really hear.

"Well, Grant and I will head out there so you gals can come see if you find anything," said Jason.

We traded places with Jason and Grant and went into the upstairs family room where they had been at. When we first walked in it had been a comfortable temperature but as soon as we sat on the couch, the temperature dropped all of a sudden. Donna took out the handheld thermometer and I shined the flashlight on it so we could see the screen.

"Whoa," I said, my eyes widening. It had dropped to about 65 degrees and was creeping lower.

"It's almost like Jay and Grant need to get back here with the thermal," said Donna. I took out an EMF detector and took a look at it.

"What the fuck?!" I exclaimed, nearly dropping it in surprise. Beside me Donna winced. I bet Grant did, too, in the van listening on audio. "Sorry, guys, but this is thing is seriously freaking out!" I showed Donna. The EMF reading was fluctuating frantically. "It's seriously going from, like, 100…then down to 0.9…and it flashes so fast you can barely read it!" Steve and Brian walked in.

"Where is it?" asked Brian, aiming a video camera at us. I held up the EMF detector and he zoomed in on its screen. "Dude, look at it!" He took it from me and showed Steve. Meanwhile, I sat shivering and Donna rubbed her arms and let out a chilled breath. The temperature in the room was steadily dropping.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling in here," said Donna nervously. All of a sudden, it went pitch black. I heard Steve curse. I frowned and tapped my flashlight against the palm of my hand, but it didn't come back on.

"The frickin' camera went dead!" said Brian. I tried to see blindly into the darkness, but to no avail. Then—

"OW!" I yelled. "What the freak? That was the inside of my thigh!"

"What? What happened?" asked Donna.

"One of the guys bumped into my thigh or something," I said.

"Wasn't me," said Brian's voice on the other side of Donna.

"I'm right here on the armchair," said Steve from across the room. I growled a little and rubbed at my thigh through my jeans. It was stinging.

"Liars," I muttered.

"So why are we sitting in the dark?" Steve asked. "Didn't the flashlights have new batteries when we came in?"

"Dude, I replaced the batteries in every one of them." said Brian. "And there were brand new Energizers in this camera."

"This doesn't make sense," said Donna.

"If there is a presence here, can you make yourself known?" asked Steve after a few moments of silence. A sharp stinging hit my right cheek.

"Ow!" I said again. "Something just hit my cheek now!"

"Um…could we go to the van and get new batteries?" said Donna. "I feel really uncomfortable in this room."

BANG!

Donna and I screamed.

"What was that?!" said Brian.

"That hurt!" we heard a voice say from out in the hallway. We saw a flashlight beam and then Dustin and Tango appeared in the doorway. Tango was rubbing his elbow and looking cross. "What's up, guys?"

"All of our equipment just shut off, batteries and everything," said Steve. He sighed. "Come on, let's go." We all trekked outside to the van. Tango and Dustin acted like our lanterns until we got to the front door. Jason threw open the doors to the van looking pissed. Really pissed.

"What is this, some sort of picnic?" he said. "Why weren't you guys answering your walkie-talkies?" We all looked dumbstruck.

"We…We didn't hear anything," said Brian.

"All our batteries went dead except for Dave's and Dustin's," said Steve.

"The family room probably hit about 50 degrees when we left," said Donna. Jason and Grant exchanged a look.

"We'll probably head up there with the thermal," said Grant, picking it up.

"This sucks," grumbled Brian, rummaging around the van for batteries. Donna hopped in to help.

"Dang it!" I said, rubbing my thigh where it hurt. Steve was walking past, but then stopped to gawk at me. I froze, and then gawked at him gawking at me.

"Felina…" He came to stand over me and cupped my face with one hand. My eyes widened and I stayed stock still where I was.

"S-Steve?" His face was rather close to mine and my stomach kept flipping in a weird way that had nothing to do with nerves.

"You're bleeding," he said, gently touching the right side of my face. I shut my eyes and winced. "Sorry."

"That's okay," I said, giving a small smile. I saw his eyes drop down to my mouth and I licked my lips somewhat nervously. His eyes flickered for a moment and he almost seemed to be pulling me closer.

"Hey, Steve, where's the batteries?" yelled Brian from inside the van. We both jumped and he let go of me.

"Um…uh…I'll get a band-aid for that," Steve said awkwardly. After he climbed into the van I let out a deep breath.

Surely he had heard my heart beating ten miles a minute.


	9. Chapter 9

My stupid face was red.

Bright red.

Tomato red.

And everyone in the immediate vicinity definitely saw it. Why was it so red, you ask? Steve was applying a band-aid to my right cheek. I was surprised that he knew where to put it, considering that the blood was probably blending in with the color of my face. As if I wasn't embarrassed enough, his hands were cold, so he definitely felt the extra heat on me.

"When exactly did you feel the sting?" asked Jason. He was sitting in front of the monitor going over the video of all of us in the family room.

"After the batteries died and Steve had asked if there was a presence in the room," I said. Then I whispered to Steve "Need help with that band-aid?"

"Gee, I don't know where your face ends and the cut begins," he whispered back. I frowned at him and he grinned.

"Oh, come on, at that rate the band-aid won't stick to anything!" said Dustin. "Move over and let a pro do it!" Steve stepped aside, looking somewhat reluctant to do so. Dustin put the band-aid on in less than five seconds and then walked away.

"Steve Gonsalves: Brilliant investigator. Crap with band-aids!" I joked. I looked over at him only to see the beginnings of the dreaded pout look on his face. I sighed and gave him a hug.

"Felina, there is nothing there that could've caused that cut on your cheek," said Jason. I pulled away from Steve and frowned at Jason.

"What?" I walked over to look at the monitor. Sure enough, the camera showed nothing but me reacting to the sting. Plus, the resolution of the video didn't show the cut very well. "That's weird. I'm not even touching my face or anything!" Jason sighed.

"What a convenient time to lose the batteries," he said. "Well, might as well wrap it up for tonight." We set about taking down the equipment and putting it back in the van. As I was rolling up some cords, I noticed that nearly everyone passing me in the hallway was stopping to pat me on the back. First Donna and Tango…then Brian and Dustin…then Steve walked by and flicked my ponytail. Jason and Grant were walking by after saying goodbye to the homeowner and I heard them stop behind me and start laughing.

"Couldn't find a trash can?" asked Grant. I frowned at him, and then slowly felt my shirt behind me. Camera tape was stuck all over my back and there was even a big wad in my ponytail. I scowled and started tangling the cords a little bit more just to spite the guys that would have to unroll them again.

* * *

Complete darkness except for the soft glow of my flashlight. I didn't know where I was, but I knew I wasn't supposed to be here. My flashlight beam kept hitting the side of a rocky wall of a cave. Suddenly, a shadow blocked out the shine of the flashlight and a jolt of fear ran through me. Seconds passed by and the shadow was still there. I had the sudden urge to get the heck away from whatever it was. I turned to run, and as I did, out of the corner of my eye I saw the black figure surge towards me—

I sat up in bed, screaming, with tears of terror running down my face. I looked around frantically, but all I saw was darkness. I heard someone breathing fast a few feet to my right. I realized that I was indeed sitting on a bed and not the hard floor of a cave. The lamp came on between the two beds and I saw Donna staring at me like I had just grown two heads. I drew my knees up to my chest along with the blankets. I was suddenly very cold.

"Are you--?" Donna's question was cut off by a series of urgent sounding raps on the door. She got up to answer it. Steve and Brian walked in.

"We heard someone screaming over here. Is everything alright?" said Brian. Donna turned and looked at me, looking concerned.

"It was Felina." Brian and Steve looked at me huddled on the bed. I watched as Steve came to sit next to me and Brian and Donna sat on the edge of the bed across from us. Steve put an arm around me and I leaned into him because he was warm.

"It's been happening for a month or so," I said. Brian and Donna frowned in confusion. "A recurring nightmare." I explained to them. "It's the same dream every time, but it keeps changing. I always wake up scared…and sometimes I end up screaming." Steve began rubbing my back in slow, comforting circles and I rested my forehead on my knees.

"You have them every night?" asked Donna.

"No. Normally once or twice a week."

"What happens in them?" asked Steve. I lifted my head up and looked at him. His gaze was unwavering.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said.

"That won't help you get over it." I sighed and looked at the clock to see it was three in the morning.

"I'm tired," I said. We had to get up at seven to review evidence.

"You gonna be okay?" asked Brian. I paused before nodding. I hoped the nightmare wouldn't return.

"Here," said Donna, picking up a pillow from her bed and coming to sit next to me. "I'll sleep beside you to make sure you'll be alright!"

"Okay," I said, smiling a little at Donna's 3 AM perkiness.

"Alright. We'll see you in the morning," said Brian, reaching over to lightly bop me and Donna in the head before heading to the door. Donna snuggled into the covers and I finally lay back down.

"Sweet dreams," said Steve. As Donna faced the other way to turn off the lamp, Steve leaned over me and placed a kiss on my cheek just as the lights went out. I couldn't see his face, only his silhouette as he walked out the door. I was sure that if the light had still been on, Donna would be making fun of the stupid grin currently plastered on my face.


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter is my Christmas gift to my readers! **

**The version of the popular song featured in this chapter was written by Donna!**

**We also find out why this fic is titled like it is.**

* * *

"Well, this trip was pretty much a complete waste of our time!" grumbled Jason over the walkie-talkie. "Waste of time, waste of gas, waste of batteries…"

"We get it," said Donna. The reason Jason was so mad was because after we had finished the case with the residence, we had tried to start our investigation of the Bell Witch cave, but the owner had a family emergency that they had to take care of in Kentucky and was unsure of when they could be available again. We had no real choice but to head back home.

"At least we can get last minute Christmas shopping done," I said, trying to brighten the mood.

"Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to _that_," said Dustin, rolling his eyes. Tango hit his fist against the steering wheel while driving and made a weird noise. We looked at him.

"I forgot to shop for my auntie!" he said. Dustin laughed.

"But _David_, you can't forget your auntie!" I teased, speaking in a baby voice and pinching his cheek. He glared at me through the rearview mirror.

If looks could kill, I would've been dead.

* * *

The next couple of days were spent doing nearby residential cases so that we wouldn't feel completely useless. The TAPS office was almost overrun by colorful gift baskets sent by clients. I was even bombarded by a falling stack of baskets as I was trying to get something from a closet. My stomach hurt at the sight of all the sweets. It was mostly the guys who worked on casework and emptying the baskets of their contents. I kept swiping all of the mint candy from the baskets so much that my mouth felt all icy. We all had so much candy in our systems that I was surprised that Steve could sit still so long while analyzing footage from a bed and breakfast we had gone to.

"Find anything yet?" asked Steve after about half an hour staring at the screens.

"Nope," I said, sucking on my third candy cane of the day. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him glance at me and then abruptly look away. I looked at him but it seemed like he was avoiding eye contact. I wondered vaguely what that was about and then returned to watching the screens, sucking happily on my candy cane. I felt eyes on me and quickly turned my head his way. I saw his eyes snap back to the screen he was supposedly watching. I grinned, took the candy cane from my mouth and licked at the end. Steve put on a deer in the headlights look and gulped nervously. I turned away, shaking with silent laughter. I went back to watching the screens for a bit.

After a while Steve yawned, stretching out his arms. I felt a weight on the back of my chair. I glanced over my shoulder. It was Steve's arm. I blushed and turned my attention back to the screens. There was a tug on my hair. I crossed my right leg over my left, and then kicked him lightly in the leg with my foot. It went on like that for a couple of minutes. Hair tug…kick…hair tug…kick.

"Geez, guys, get a room!" I jumped and then turned around in my seat. I actually had forgotten that Brian was sitting in a rolling chair behind us listening to audio. He was looking very amused. Overly amused, if you ask me. Steve rolled his eyes and removed his arm from the back of my chair. I looked over my shoulder and gave Brian a very Tango-like death glare.

* * *

"Hey, everyone!" yelled Andy, coming into the office carrying a basket of candy canes.

"Oooh! Andy has candy!" Donna dropped the end of the string of garland she and I had been hanging up and tried to reach into his basket.

"EH! N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-NO!" yelled Andy, giving Donna a wide-eyed frown. Donna looked taken aback. Andy's face then changed into a grin so fast that it was really unnerving. "This is for later!"

"Hey, Andy, how's it goin'?" said Grant, stuffing his face with a gingerbread cookie.

"Great! Hey, when are we exchanging Secret Santa gifts?" he said, rubbing his hands together. This made me grin evilly and I began to prance around Andy in a circle.

"Uh-oh! Andy's excited! Wha' you want, puppy? What you want, puppy?! Kibbles 'n Bits! Kibbles 'n Bits!" I teased. This had started a while ago when Andy started acting like a hyperactive puppy before we went to Ledge Light. As I danced around Andy the fourth time, he placed a strategic poke to my side that sent me squealing to the floor. Grant stepped over me to talk to Andy and they both started talking as if nothing unusual had happened.

"Why are you on the floor?" asked Jason, who had just come into the room carrying a gift wrapped box.

"Because…I was trying to hear if anyone was coming!" I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Did you hear me coming?"

"Pssh, _of course_ I heard _you_ coming!" I said. I realized what I had insinuated and covered my mouth. "Crap!" I got up and ran for the door.

"Yeah, keep on running, Castillo!"

About one hour and four glasses of wine later, we sat around chatting with one another after exchanging our secret Santa gifts. Even though we already had Secret Santa's, we still gave each other gifts just for the heck of it. I think Donna had more to drink than the rest of us because before it was about time to go she began to sing her own version of "the Twelve Days of Christmas," very loudly so that everyone had no choice but to listen.

"_On the first day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me..  
A fallen soundman in the armory! _

On the second day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me..  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman in the armory

On the third day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me..  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman in the armory

On the fourth day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me..  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman in the armory

On the fifth day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me..  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman in the armory

On the sixth day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me..  
Six drained cameras  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman in the armory

On the seventh day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me...  
Seven EMF spikes  
Six drained cameras  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman from the armory

On the eight day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me...  
Eight annoying cliff-hangers  
Seven EMF spikes  
Six drained cameras  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman from the armory

On the ninth day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me...  
Nine EVP explanations  
Eight annoying cliff-hangers  
Seven EMF spikes  
Six drained cameras  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman from the armory

On the tenth day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me...  
Ten new Steve phobias  
Nine EVP explanations  
Eight annoying cliff-hangers  
Seven EMF spikes  
Six drained cameras  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman from the armory

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me...  
Eleven "what the fetches?"  
Ten new Steve phobias  
Nine EVP explanations  
Eight annoying cliff-hangers  
Seven EMF spikes  
Six drained cameras  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman from the armory!" 

By the last verse, everyone joined in with Donna.

"_On the twelfth day of Christmas, Ghost Hunters gave to me...  
Twelve last season Re-Runs  
Eleven "what the fetches?"  
Ten new Steve phobias  
Nine EVP explanations  
Eight annoying cliff-hangers  
Seven EMF spikes  
Six drained cameras  
WHERE IS ANDY???  
Four dusty orbs  
Three Divas of Darkness  
Two Roto plumbers  
And a fallen soundman from the armory!_" 

There were cheers and applause after the song was done. Donna bowed and nearly fell over.

"We should do this kind of thing more often!" said Dustin. Tango and I were already cleaning up the mess we made.

"Okay," I said. "I bought five mistletoes to put in every room and one is missing!"

"Where was it?" asked Grant.

"…Inside the bathroom." Grant stared.

"Why did you put it there?!"

"I ran out of spots to put it!"

"Felina…you're probably the most unconventional member of TAPS."

"That's why you love me."

* * *

After we had all cleaned up, everyone was going their own separate ways. I gathered up all my gifts in a bag and started piling on layers to venture out into the cold and head home. Steve came around the corner and seemed surprised to see me.

"I thought everyone had left already," he said. I began trying to fit my coat over my jacket.

"Nope, still here!" I said. "Ugh, I've got a long drive. But I got to go home somehow."

"But baby, it's cold outside!" Steve half sang. I laughed.

"Steve, you're a dork." He laughed too for a while until we both stopped.

Awkward silence. I wound a scarf around my neck and put on a knitted cap.

"Well, I'd better get going," I said, and opened the back door to the parking lot. "Oh, it's snowing!"

"Snowing in Rhode Island. Who knew?" Steve teased. I smiled and then gave him a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Steve! Seeya around!" I was ready to run out to my car, but Steve had my arm in his grip. I turned and looked at him curiously. I couldn't read his expression.

"Look up." I did and saw that a sprig of mistletoe was squished in the top of the doorframe. My breathing stopped. He released my arm and gently cupped my chin in his hand. I looked into his eyes. Gosh, I never knew brown eyes could be so beautiful. And they were getting closer. My eyelids fluttered shut and I felt warm lips against mine. His other arm snaked around my waist and pulled me closer. I slid my hands over his shoulders as he deepened the kiss and ran my fingers through his hair, which was thankfully free of the TAPS hat. A cold gust of wind blew into us and I accidentally bit Steve's lip a little in shock of the cold. Apparently, it didn't bother him because he did the same to me afterwards. We finally parted and I kissed Steve on the cheek.

"I'll walk you to your car," he said, and picked up my bag of gifts. I unlocked my car and he put it in the back seat. I stood with the driver's side door open and he came to stand in front of me, trapping me between him and my car. Snow was falling all around us. "If I'm ever in Cranston over the next few days, I'll look you up."

"Alright," I said, smiling. "If I'm ever up in Massachusetts, I'll look you up." We leaned in and kissed once more and then he held the door as I got into my car. He closed the door and patted the window. I blew him a kiss before driving away.

There was a beep on my cell phone that meant there was a text message. I fished it out of my pocket and flipped it open. I frowned. The text had been sent an hour ago.

_**Did you ever find that lost mistletoe?**_

_**--Brian**_

Hah! Very tricky, Harnois!

And yet, I couldn't stop smiling.


	11. Chapter 11

It was a busy day at Tres Chicas on the day before New Year's Eve. We had opened shop at eight o' clock that morning and didn't close until five o' clock. Britta was swamped with last minute clothes fittings and Angela acted as salesperson while I manned the register. At around noon there was a gap in between customers, so we sat around chatting and sipping hot cocoa. I still hadn't told Britta and Angela about Steve so they were pestering me about dates again.

"So, going stag to Mama's party tomorrow?" Britta asked me. I sipped my cocoa and shrugged. My aunt always threw a big party with friends and family. I always thought the parties were pretty cool until more and more family members started passing the legal drinking age and by sundown everyone was drunk off of eggnog. I think the most memorable year for me so far had to be when I brought Dustin over (when he was still single) and he drank a whole carton of sugar cookie eggnog. He got so wasted it was as if he had just taken Ecstasy by the way he was acting. He had laid his head on my shoulder and gushed on and on about how great sugar cookie eggnog was, then he sighed in girly sort of way and started petting my hair. About a split second later, sugar cookie eggnog was regurgitated all over my sweater. Needless to say, that was the most action I had ever gotten out of Aunt Savannah's New Year's parties. And it had only been 11:00! I never let Dustin live that down, and I now steer clear of anyone with sugar cookie eggnog.

"Possibly," I said, answering Britta's question subtly. I had called Steve earlier and he agreed to go with me. I warned him ahead of time about my cousins, who he had only met once before. Once they found out, they were going to go crazy.

"What, do you have a list?" Angela teased.

"Oh yeah. And I've gotta check it again to see who's naughty or nice." Angela nearly spit out her hot cocoa while laughing.

"Gee, one little holiday behind, don'tcha think?" Britta joked.

"You should be the one to talk," I said. "There's still a huge light-up reindeer in the front window!" Our laughter was interrupted by the chime of the bell above the door. I had my back to the door, but I saw Britta's eyebrows go up.

"Who the heck wears work shirts to a dress shop? Who's he, a mechanic?" I turned around in curiosity and a smile lit my face when I saw it was Steve. He was casually browsing the costume jewelry.

"I got this one," I said, as Angela was about to set down her mug. She nodded and I walked over to him. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes. I'm looking for the perfect gift for my girlfriend." He gave me one of his rare smiles.

"I have just the thing. Step over here, please." I pulled us out of view from the others behind a huge wooden shelf and then threw myself into his arms and gave him a big kiss. "I missed you," I whispered into his ear.

"Geez, do I have to kiss you more often to get you to say nice things to me?" he whispered back. I giggled.

"What brings you around these parts?"

"I was stopping by TAPS to check out some new tech stuff we just got and decided to stop by real quick to see how you were doing," said Steve, leaning in for another kiss. I heard footsteps coming and quickly scooted away. The moment before Britta came into view, Steve randomly grabbed two items and held them up as if deciding which one to buy. I acted as if I was tapping my foot waiting for him. Britta's face turned red and she made a choking noise. It looked as if she was trying not to laugh. I looked at the merchandise Steve was holding. I had to bite my lip. Out of all things in the store, he had to grab a tiny red lacy thong AND a rather large sized girdle. Steve's expression clearly stated "Oh, shit."

"Nice choice, sir!" said Britta. "Will you be paying in cash, credit, or check?" Steve and I both cast her concerned looks.

"Um…rain check," he said, putting the stuff down. He gave me a little smile and wave before heading out.

"Pssh. Mechanics," muttered Britta.

* * *

It was New Year's Eve finally and the doorbell rang for the fifteenth time as another guest arrived. I was stuck listening to my Great Uncle Charlie's old fishing and hunting stories. He was putting so much enthusiasm and hand movements into his storytelling that I was scared he was going to knock over his wine glass.

"…Then after I shot it dead, I took it and snapped its neck and just dug right into the--"

"—Lovely story to tell while I'm eating chicken, Uncle Charlie…" He stopped and looked up, his hands in mid "neck snapping" motion.

"I'll get it!" yelled Britta over the din of guests. A few moments later I heard her call my name. I excused myself from Uncle Charlie and went to her. "That mechanic guy from yesterday is outside asking for you and he's wearing a suit!"

"Let him in, then!" I said. I opened the door to Steve, who was looking very dashing in a suit. And the TAPS hat was nowhere in sight! I looked him over appreciatively and he did the same to me. "Hey, Steve! Lookin' good!" We hugged and I sighed, getting a whiff of his cologne. Boy, he smelled _good_.

"Felina, you look ravishing." Steve took my hand and placed a kiss on it, keeping eye contact. I exchanged glances with Britta, who looked like she had just won the lottery.

"I've gotta tell Angela!" she said, and turned on her heel to do so. I looked at Steve and grinned.

"Didn't I tell you they were crazy?" I said. Steve kept my hand in his grasp and gave it another kiss.

"All I know is I'm lucky that I got to you before another guy did," he said. I smiled and placed a kiss to his cheek, and then wiped the lipstick mark off.

"You're too sweet. Now let's meet my family!" His eyes drifted over to Uncle Charlie, who had gotten up in his seat and was doing something that looked like river dancing.

"Um…do I have to?" he said. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I had to live with these people at some point in time. You can last a night, trust me." Before we could go two steps, Britta and Angela were right there.

"Felina! That dress looks awesome on you! Where'd you get it?" said Britta. I giggled. She was the one who made it.

"And who's this handsome stranger?" said Angela, eyeing Steve. Steve was looking slightly unnerved.

"Actually, you guys have met briefly before. This is Steve from TAPS," I said.

"Oh, I remember you!" said Britta. "The tattoo guy! Felina talks about you all the time." Steve looked at me and I flushed red.

"Britta," I said warningly.

"Nonstop, actually," Britta continued. The huge smile on her face meant she was enjoying humiliating me. "All we hear is 'Steve this,' 'Steve that,' blah, blah, blah."

"We really do try to shut her up," piped in Angela. I gaped at them. Steve smirked.

"Should I get a restraining order?" he said.

"Steve!" I whined, annoyed that he was going along with it. "That's not true! They're making it up! I do not--" He stopped me in mid-sentence by grabbing me by the waist and kissing me chastely. I turned even redder and just stood there leaning against him trying not to smile. Angela giggled. Britta gave the thumbs-up.

"I'm impressed. He got her to shut up!" I glared at her. Family could be so annoying sometimes!

"Black eyed peas! Get 'em while they're hot!" called Aunt Savannah, carrying a huge serving tray to the table. I took Steve's hand.

"Ready to meet more family?" I asked him.

"Are they anything like…?" He jerked his head at Angela and Britta, who had gone to fill up their plates. I laughed.

"Once you get past Uncle Charlie, you're all set."

It was almost midnight and I had already gotten a hold of four glasses of wine. Someone had put on a dance mix and several generations were attempting to show off their moves. I was giggling a little too much as Steve and I attempted to do the merengue to the "Suavemente" remix. Britta was actually doing a line dance with her date. And, right beside them, Uncle Charlie was attempting to riverdance. Aunt Savannah had the TV on mute with the Times Square special showing so that we could count down to midnight with it. Right after "Suavemente," it started playing "Waiting for tonight" by Jennifer Lopez.

"Whoo! Perfect song!" I said, shaking my hips. Steve looked amused. He pulled me closer to whisper in my ear.

"Oh, really?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. I blushed, realizing he had probably not heard the song before and thought I was suggesting something.

"Uh…the video for this song…was for New Year's 2000," I said. His smirk was still in place. I blushed harder.

"Guys! The countdown is starting!" yelled Angela over all the noise. Aunt Savannah started hastily passing out wineglasses as we counted down.

10…

9…

8…

7…

6…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1!

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone chorused. Steve pulled me flush against him and kissed me like there was no tomorrow. Several people around us cheered. When we finally pulled away, I almost dropped my wineglass in lightheadedness. Pleasant lightheadedness, I might add. Several minutes after we all toasted to the New Year and exchanged hugs and handshakes, people were starting to leave. Now that my wine intake was raised to five glasses, I was tottering around while attempting to clean up. I looked up for a moment and saw that Steve was helping to clean up also.

"Oh, Steve, you don't have to do that! You can leave if you want."

"Well, I was thinking of giving you a ride home since you don't seem fit to drive," he said. I started to protest but nearly tripped over my heels and he caught me. I grinned guiltily.

"That's okay, I can always stay here—"

"Felina, we've got everything covered, and me and Angie are spending the night, so unless you wanna sleep on the floor…Go!" said Britta, taking dirty plates out of my hands. I thought for a moment and then sighed.

"Alright. See you later." I hugged Britta and said goodnight.

"Make sure she gets home safe!" said Britta to Steve, also hugging him. She saw us to the door and winked at me before shutting the front door and going inside. I shook my head, smiling, and followed Steve to his car. It was relatively quiet on the ride home except for the radio playing. I kept nodding off and then jerking awake. Steve snorted. I looked over at him to see him looking at me.

"Past your bedtime?" he said softly. I yawned and nodded. He smiled as he pulled into my driveway. We just sat there for a moment in silence. I looked at the clock on the dashboard.

"Geez, it's almost two," I said.

"Yep," said Steve, yawning. I smiled and took his hand, lacing my fingers with his.

"It's too late for you to be driving out there. Too many drunks," I said. "Stay with me?" Steve looked at me uncertainly.

"Felina…" he said with a careful tone.

"Oh," I realized what he might have thought. "No, I meant you could sleep over on my couch." His expression cleared.

"Oh," he said. "Alright, then." He took the keys out of the ignition.

"Alright, then!" I said, and got out of the car, promptly tripping on the hem of my dress and falling over. Steve ran around to my side and helped me up. I started laughing hysterically.

"Can I trust you to walk the five feet to your front door?" Steve asked incredulously.

"No!" I uttered between laughs. I squealed when Steve scooped me up bridal style and carried me to the front steps. I unlocked the door and he carried me in and set me on the sofa.

"Any other tripping from here on out, you're on your own," he said, closing the front door.

"What a loving boyfriend you are," I joked. I kicked off my heels and then threw the cushions off of the sofa. "Come and lay your head on this big sleeper sofa and you'll be alright as long as you stay with me!" I sang off-key while trying to pull out the bed. Steve laughed and helped me. I got a blanket and pillows and threw it onto the sofa.

"Hey!" said Steve, emerging from the mountain of pillows and blankets I had just thrown on him. He threw a pillow at me. I screamed when it hit me and then threw it back, hitting him smack on the face. Steve got up and started chasing me around the room wielding the pillow. I screamed and ran down the hall to my room and tried shutting the door, but Steve was right behind me. I ran around to the other side of the bed, but Steve jumped onto the bed and smacked me with the pillow. I grabbed hold of it and tried to hit him back, but he wouldn't let go. I jumped on the bed next to him and started a tug of war with the pillow. Steve rolled over and pinned my arms to the bed.

"Not fair!" I laughed. He grinned and leaned down and kissed me. He released my arms and I grabbed the pillow and bopped him upside the head. I giggled into the kiss and he impatiently grabbed the pillow and threw it to the floor. He deepened the kiss and I threw my arms around his shoulders. He swallowed my gasp of surprise in his kiss as he settled himself on top of me. He broke the kiss and nibbled on the sensitive spot where my jaw and neck met. I whimpered in pleasure and ran my fingers through his hair.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered huskily against my ear.

"Mmm, why don't you spend the night right here?" I said, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Felina…" he said with the same tone as earlier. I lifted my leg and shamelessly rubbed my thigh against the crotch of his pants. He groaned against my ear and I smirked. "You are so evil…" He scooted his lower half away from me and I giggled.

"Beautiful and evil! Dangerous combination," I said, rubbing his shoulders. He smiled.

"Beautiful, evil, and drunk…fatal." He leaned down and kissed me sweetly. "Goodnight, baby. Sleep well." I was about to protest but he gave me one of his looks. I settled down and gave him a kiss.

"Goodnight. Seeya in the morning." He kissed my hand and then turned out the light and shut my door. I was about ready to fall asleep when I realized with a groan. I still had to get up and change into my pajamas!

"Ah, screw it!" I mumbled, rolling over to go to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

I saw myself through a black mist. It was as if I was standing at the foot of my own bed watching myself sleep. Everything was as it should have been. The only thing really out of place was that I felt as if I was a part of this black mist and I felt a strong sense of hate emanating from it. Someone else's hate. All of a sudden, I was turning from myself on the bed and went through my bedroom wall and into the hall. I felt like I was gliding instead of walking. All of a sudden I was hovering over Steve's sleeping form and this foreign sense of hate seemed to grow. I saw a black and gnarled hand reach out and grab Steve's throat. His eyes flew open and he began to struggle and make choking sounds. He grabbed at the hand, but it wasn't loosening its grip. His eyes slowly began to flutter shut…

"NOOO!" I yelled, scrambling up out of bed. I started for the door, but it burst open just as I reached it and arms seized me. I screamed. "LET ME GO!"

"Felina, it's Steve!" I calmed down just a hair. I reached over and switched on the light and turned to look at Steve, but screamed at what I saw. Instead of Steve was the black shadow from all of my nightmares. It came closer. I couldn't move.

"You will be mine."

* * *

"OW!" I woke up to find that I was kicking and punching at something. "Felina, it's me!" I sat up and saw Steve holding his arms out in front of him in defense.

"What happened?" I asked groggily. Steve rubbed his jaw.

"I tried to kiss you awake and you screamed and knocked me in the face!" he complained.

"I did?" I said, amazed. I looked over at the clock and saw it was 10:30. My head was throbbing.

"It was one of those nightmares again, wasn't it?" said Steve softly. I thought back to what had happened to Steve in my nightmare and tears welled up in my eyes. He saw this and got in bed with me, taking me into his arms.

"It always causes harm…whatever's in my dreams…and this time it wanted to kill you." The tears I had been trying to hold in started pouring down my face. Steve hugged me tighter and kissed my temple.

"I'm here, baby, don't worry," he said. I felt silly crying about a stupid dream, especially in front of Steve. I wiped at my tears and leaned my head on his shoulder. It was silent for a few moments as I tried to calm down.

"So it's 'baby' now, eh?" I said, glancing sideways at Steve with a smirk. His face reddened. I tried to laugh, but the aching in my head protested. I groaned and slowly eased myself down so that I was lying down. Steve propped himself up on his elbow facing me. "I think I have a hangover." His face broke out into a smile of amusement and I pouted.

"Five glasses of wine. Impressive," he teased. I stuck my bottom lip out further and attempted to whimper pathetically. "Need an aspirin?"

"Be a dear and get it from the medicine cabinet for me?" The bed moved slightly as Steve got up and headed to the bathroom.

I was fast asleep by the time he got back.

* * *

I woke up much later with a clearer head. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost two in the afternoon. I yawned and trudged out of my room, heading towards the kitchen to get something to eat. I stopped and frowned when I heard the television going in the living room. I didn't remember leaving it on last night. I walked over and saw Steve sprawled out on the sofa digging into a bag of chips.

"Make yourself at home, why don't ya!" I said. Steve jumped a little and then turned to me, his hand buried in the chip bag.

"Hey, Sleepin' Beauty!" I plopped down beside him and grabbed a handful of chips, then snuggled up beside him. On the TV was a rerun of _Friends_.

"Is nothing on, then?" I asked. Steve sighed and shook his head.

"It was either this or _Golden Girls_." I burst out laughing.

"Let's switch it to _Golden Girls_! I've seen this _Friends_ episode a dozen times already," I said, trying to keep a straight face. Steve put an arm around my shoulders.

"Felina," he said. "You know I'd do anything for you in a heartbeat…" I looked at him, and he looked at me in a way that nearly made me swoon. He brought his other hand over to caress my chin gently with his fingers, tilting my head up closer to his. He leaned closer, a breath away from kissing me. "…but there's no way in hell I'm gonna watch _Golden Girls_." His lips tickled as they brushed against mine. I shivered at how his tone had gotten deeper with his last comment. He placed a quick kiss on my lips and then turned back to the TV, digging into the chips again. I sat back, slightly breathless and thunderstruck. Steve snorted at a silly comment that Phoebe had made, oblivious to the fact that he had pretty much seduced me a moment earlier.

Growling in frustration, I took the chip bag and remote out of his hands and tossed them off to the side. Steve looked alarmed and was about to speak, but my lips came crashing down on his and he seemed to relax after that. He pulled me onto his lap. I was soon blissfully unaware of the canned laughter coming from the TV and the fact that I was still wearing my party dress, and if it hadn't been wrinkled enough before, it sure was now.

* * *

It was about three weeks into the New Year that TAPS headed out on more cases. We were doing another residential case, this time in Montgomery, Alabama. Afterwards, we were going back to the Bell Witch Cave and hopefully doing an investigation. Jason, Grant, Kris, and Tango flew while Steve and I drove. We kept contact through the walkie-talkies, which was basically our only form of entertainment besides the radio. We had to leave a day early and spent the night again in Roanoke, Virginia.

"Hey, check out 97.5, they're playing 'Sweet Home Alabama!" I said over the walkie-talkie. We were just driving into Birmingham.

"Sweet," replied Steve. I then proceeded to serenade him via walkie-talkie.

When we got to Montgomery, Grant called and said that the plane had landed and that they were ready to be picked up.

"We're stuck in traffic in Huntsville!" I said as we were pulling up to the airport.

"For real?" said Grant in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's like bumper to bumper because there was a freak accident up ahead."

"That really, really sucks," Grant sighed in frustration. I heard him relay the news to Jason, who started cursing. I parked the van alongside the curb behind Steve and then got out, listening to Grant and Jason debating their next move. I got into the tech van with Steve, grinning.

"They're on the phone?" he mouthed, and I nodded. I put my finger over the mouthpiece.

"They think we're stuck in traffic in Huntsville." Steve laughed and gave me a high-five.

"So are you guys in baggage claim?" I asked. Grant didn't answer, but I heard shuffling and then the voice of Jason.

"How's the traffic like now at your end?" he asked, sounding completely pissed off.

"At a stand still. Nothing's been moving for a couple of minutes. And if there is, it's just creeping forward a few inches."

"Dammit! We said we'd be there at 4:30, but without the vans and equipment, we're useless!" Jay practically yelled. I yanked the phone away from my ear and eyed it warily. Then I gave it to Steve, who gave me a bewildered look.

"What do I do?" he mouthed, looking nervous. I motioned for him to talk. "Uh…hello?" I put my ear by the other side of the phone to hear.

"What the--Steve?" asked Jason, sounding dumbfounded.

"Yep."

"Where--aren't you driving the tech van?"

"Not at the moment," said Steve, starting to grin.

"Steve…" said Jason suspiciously.

"Are you still getting your luggage?" I said into the phone. There was a long pause.

"Okay, you guys better tell me what the hell happened, NOW!" I nearly fell over laughing.

"Once you guys get your luggage, come outside. We're waiting on you," said Steve. We exchanged amused looks and then heard a distinct click as Jason hung up the phone. "Uh-oh. We're screwed." Thankfully, as the others exited the airport, they all had smiles on their faces.

"Good job you guys," chuckled Jason through the window at us. I tossed him the keys to the other van and we waited for the others to pile in with their luggage before we took off with Jay in the lead.

And for the third time today, the radio started to play "Sweet Home Alabama."


	13. Chapter 13

"This is Tango and Felina in the upstairs family room," said Tango, tagging the EVP session on his recorder. So far nothing had happened tonight in our investigation. Supposedly the homeowners had been experiencing odd occurrences like objects moving by themselves or the motion detector setting the security alarm off in the house while no one was home. Another thing was that the family completely avoided the room that Tango and I were in right now because they never felt comfortable staying there for more than a few minutes. As Tango did the EVP session, I set about the room with an EMF detector, trying to see if high EMFs were the real cause of the family's discomfort.

"Right now it's the same as it was when Jay and Grant were in here earlier," I said. Tango and I sat on the couch as both of us did the EVP session.

"Is there anyone present?" asked Tango.

"If there is someone here, why do you bother the family currently living here?" I asked. Almost as soon as I spoke, a crisp breeze ran across the back of my neck. "Um…okay…"

"You felt that, too?" said Tango, rubbing the back of his neck. We searched the room to find no windows open. I swung my flashlight around the ceiling to see if the breeze was caused by an A/C vent. There was nothing. Tango and I exchanged looks. He looked thoughtful. "Cracks in the outside walls?"

"That may be it. Nice call, Dave," I said, and we set about feeling along the walls with our hands and shining our flashlights. Nothing. Tango sighed.

"Apparently not." He sunk down onto the couch. The moment he did, something went flying off of the shelf behind him and hit him in the head. "Agh! Dude!"

"Dude!" I exclaimed, staring at him in shock.

"Dude!" said Steve's voice from the walkie-talkie. "We just got that on the IR camera!" Tango scrambled around on the couch and finally held up a black palm-sized hardcover book. He searched the cover for the title and finally found it on the little spine. He squinted.

"What the—'Sex for Dummies'?!" We both sat in stunned silence for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter. Steve, Grant, Jason, and Kris walked into the room a moment later.

"What the fadge is so funny?" asked Jason, looking stern. Tango, too overcome by laughter to speak, simply handed him the book.

"T-that's what—that's what hit him!" I managed to say. Jason opened the book and a second later his eyes grew to the size of saucers. Grant took a peek and then abruptly turned away.

"Aw! What the frig?!" he said in disgust, rubbing a hand over his eyes as if to rid himself of the vision. Jason threw the book to Steve as laughter overtook him. I watched Steve's reaction in amusement. Instead of acting shocked, Steve tilted his head in curiosity and even rotated the book as if to see something at a different angle. This made us laugh even harder. Kris stole a glance of the title on the spine and wisely backed away when Steve offered the book to her.

"Okay guys, let's put that back and might as well wrap it up for tonight," said Jason once the laughter died down. Everyone started to file out of the room. Steve put the book back on the shelf and then turned and winked at me. I blushed and then went to start rolling up some cords. As I was kneeling down, I felt a smack to my bottom and turned in time to see Steve hightailing it out of the room with a smirk on his face.

* * *

I woke up out of a doze when I heard my cell phone beep, which meant there was a text message. I read it and smiled. I snuck out of the room I was sharing with Kris and headed towards the lobby. Steve was waiting when I got there. We walked outside into the crisp Alabama winter night, holding hands and shuffling our way slowly along the sidewalk. He pulled me off the path once we came to the cover of a cluster of trees. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

"Geez, I haven't been alone with you since forever," he said, touching his forehead to mine. I giggled and pecked him on the lips.

"Poor Steve," I said, hugging him and resting my head on his chest. "Man, that was weird tonight. The way it just flew off the shelf like that."

"What was even weirder was the technique they had on page 20," said Steve. I smacked Steve on the arm and laughed. I went back to just cuddling him until his hand slipped down to my butt and squeezed hard. I gasped and jumped.

"Stephen Gonsalves!" I nearly shrieked, dancing out of his reach. "How dare you cop a feel like that!"

"You're welcome to reciprocate," he said, smirking and advancing upon me. I bit my lip to keep from laughing and took a step back for every step forward he took. I soon found my back against a tree and Steve placed his arms on either side of me, trapping me there. "Go ahead." I giggled when he wiggled his hips.

"There," I said, reaching around to lightly pinch his left butt cheek through his jeans. He looked at me and laughed.

"You're blushing!" He grinned and stared at me. I unsuccessfully tried to turn my head away. "Your face is seriously like a tomato!"

"Stop looking at my face!" I whined. I twisted away from him so that I had my back towards him and my face was out of view.

"You've just placed us in a very awkward position," Steve teased. I meant to poke my butt out in jest, but since I didn't expect Steve to be standing that close behind me, I accidentally ground against him. I felt him stiffen behind me. I felt his hands come to rest on my hips.

"Sorry!" I said, starting to move away, but he held fast to my hips and kept me there, putting his body flush against mine. I felt breath hot on my ear as he started gently nibbling the sensitive skin right there. I nearly melted. One of his hands then left my hips to slide under my shirt and I cried out. He stopped abruptly, pulling his hands away from me.

"What's wrong? What'd I do?" He sounded worried.

"Your hands are freezing!" I said, pulling my shirt back down. I turned around to face him again. He looked at me peculiarly and chuckled. He leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips.

"Well," Steve looked at the time on his cell phone. "We might as well head back in and get some sleep."

"I want to stay out here until my face stops resembling a tomato."

"We'll be out here all night, then, won't we?" he quipped.

Laughing, I chased him all the way back into the lobby.

* * *

The radio in the van was playing "Please Come to Boston" for the third time since we arrived in Tennessee.

"Have you noticed that they keep playing songs that mention the states we happen to be driving through?" I pondered aloud to Steve. He simply made a sound of acknowledgement as he drove. We were heading from our hotel in Clarksville to the Bell Witch Cave in Adams. Steve's right hand was resting on my knee and had been there for a while now. He removed it only after we parked and had to get out. He headed off for the tour with Jay and Grant while Kris, Tango, and I stood around outside. As Tango perched on the tailgate of the van text messaging, Kris pulled me aside.

"Where were you at around two? I didn't even hear you leave when I woke up to use the bathroom," she said. I tried my best not to look guilty.

"I took a walk to clear my head a bit," I fibbed. She paused for a moment and then nodded and I let out a breath. Steve and I had decided not to tell everyone else about our relationship yet. Steve said that if Jay and Grant found out, we probably wouldn't be allowed to work cases together anymore. That would leave us with even less time spent together. The three of us sat and talked until Jason, Grant, and Steve came back several minutes later.

"Okay," said Jason, rubbing his hands together. "Let's set up."

* * *

"If a spider comes crawling on me, be prepared to kill it fast or I'm flying outta here," said Steve, shining his flashlight around the cave walls ahead of me. I smirked.

"Thought you were afraid of flying," I quipped. Steve sent me a glare over his shoulder. I walked past him and saw he was about to grab at my butt in retaliation, but I stopped him. "The IR is right over there! And what is it with you and my ass all of a sudden?" Steve smirked and was about to respond when a crash sounded from behind us. We both spun around and shone our flashlights into the darkness. There wasn't anything there that could have caused that sound.

"Is anyone there? Could you give us a sign of your presence?" said Steve. We slowly made our way down the dark tunnel in silence. About halfway down, my flashlight beam hit something shiny. A doorknob. There was a random wooden door in the cave. I grabbed the doorknob and turned. It opened with a loud creak.

"This is weird," I said. "Let's see what we can find in here." I walked on ahead, shining my flashlight around the narrow tunnel. As I walked on, it felt as if the air around me was getting heavier. I used my flashlight to see the reading on my EMF meter, and it was then that I noticed with a pang of fear something more peculiar. I looked behind me and saw nothing but darkness.

"Steve?!"


	14. Chapter 14

"Steve?!"

I shone my light down the tunnel, but there was no sign of Steve. I instinctively reached down to my belt for the walkie-talkie that was normally clipped there, but realized with a sickening jolt that it was with Steve. I took a deep breath and then let it out.

"Okay. Wonderful," I said, and then cringed and decided not to talk out loud anymore because I was freaking myself out. I began walking back towards the door I had found, shining my flashlight around the walls.

All of a sudden, a dark form flitted across my peripheral vision. I swiveled my head to the right only to see the nothing but the cave wall. I started to walk faster. My breathing started to get faster when it felt as if something was following right behind me.

My flashlight went dead right then. I gave a little scream and ran blindly in the darkness. I ran smack into the door. I remember I had left it open before so that Steve could follow me through. I grabbed the doorknob and turned, but it wouldn't budge. A cold chill was spreading around me. I tried ramming my shoulder against the door, but to no avail. I started hyperventilating. I could actually see my breath escape me in little puffs of smoke. It felt like there was a presence behind me.

"HELP!" I yelled, pounding my fist against the door. Then there was heaviness. Air was pressing in all around me, making it hard to breathe…

* * *

When I slowly came to, I was lying against something warm and something soft was resting on my chest. I heard the buzz of a computer and figured I was in the tech van. I opened my eyes a fraction. A tattooed arm was draped over me possessively and fingers were caressing back and forth lazily over my collar bone. I felt the gentle rise and fall of Steve's chest beneath my head. I opened my eyes all the way and looked up at the monitor which was displaying four different camera views. On one square I could see Kris and Tango. Jason and Grant were nowhere to be found. In an effort to reach for Steve's arm, I realized that I was buried beneath at least five jackets. Steve must have felt my movement, because a moment later he shifted and I felt breath on the top of my head.

"How're you feeling, Fee?" he asked gently.

"What happened?"

"After we went looking for where that crash was, I lost you all of a sudden. I had no idea where you were. I asked Grant if he saw you on any cameras, but he didn't. We stopped everything and started looking for you right after that. We found the door and had to yank it open. You had fainted." I threw the jackets off of me and sat up, turning to face him.

"Something was down there," I said. "I thought you were right behind me until I realized you weren't. I turned to go back and my flashlight went out and it felt like _someone was behind me_…It was like in my dreams." Steve's eyes widened.

"_What_?" he said in disbelief. The doors to the van opened abruptly behind me and I squeaked and dove into Steve's lap. Steve cleared his throat and gently pushed me off. I looked at him and then looked back to see Jason raising an eyebrow.

"We went down that tunnel. As far as we know, we didn't catch anything. The battery was draining from the thermal. There was a dead end about forty feet in," said Jason, talking mostly to Steve. He then looked at me and beckoned to join him and Grant outside of the van. The van doors were shut behind me.

"How're you holding up?" asked Grant. He held the back of his hand up to my forehead.

"I'm fine," I said, smiling a little at Grant's fatherly instincts kicking in. However, Jason's very father-like stern look wiped it right off.

"What I wanna know is why you went off by yourself," he said, crossing his arms.

"I thought Steve was behind me," I said quietly.

"You didn't check behind you before going in?" I shook my head. He clicked his tongue. "You've got to exercise a little bit more caution on investigations like this. We were worried sick trying to find you. Grant was just about ready to call the police when we found you!" I could tell Jason was trying hard not to blow his top with me. He acted eerily similar to my father when he scolded me. I took a deep breath and relayed to them everything I had already told Steve about my experience in the tunnels, leaving out the part about the dreams.

"If something was there, then hopefully we caught it on our equipment," said Grant.

"Yeah, hopefully," said Jason. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and then spoke into his walkie-talkie. "Start wrapping it up, guys."

* * *

I was startled awake by knocking on my hotel room door. I sat up groggily. Light was peeking in through the curtains. The clock on the nightstand read 9:30AM. Kris wasn't there.

"Who is it?" I yelled with my voice all crackly.

"It's Steve!" he yelled, mimicking my crackly voice. I trudged over to open the door, and the moment I did Steve planted a wet one on me.

"Hey!" I said, pulling him into the room and shutting the door behind us. "For all you knew, it could've been Kris answering the door!"

"Nope," he said. "I know for sure Kris went off to town to look for records on the cave." He gathered me into a hug. I noticed he was holding a paper plate covered with a napkin in one hand.

"You come bearing a gift?" He handed me the plate and I lifted the napkin to the welcome sight of French toast sticks and syrup. "Oh, I love you."

"You better," he said, smirk in place, although he looked more smug than usual. "Eat up so we can help Tango with the analysis." We sat on my bed and watched TV as I ate my breakfast. "So, did you sleep well?"

"I slept surprisingly well considering what happened last night." I started licking syrup off of my fingers. I took my gaze off of the TV for a second, only to see Steve watching me intently. "Can I help you?" I watched him gulp, and then he scooted towards me. I smiled slyly and continued cleaning off my fingers. I heard him groan softly as he slid an arm across my shoulders.

"Tease," he growled into my ear, making me shiver.

"I'm sorry; did you want my French toast?" I said mischievously.

"I want something, alright." I giggled and got up, moving away from his exploring hands. I draped myself sideways across the bed, striking a model pose. He turned and looked at me, a glint in his eyes.

"You want some of this?" I purred. "Come over here and get it."

He did as he was ordered. And boy, he didn't disappoint.


	15. Chapter 15

I snuck into the conference room Steve and Tango were in at around 11:30. Steve pretended to chastise me for sleeping in late and Tango sat by and watched with his eyebrows raised. They gave me the thermal imaging footage to review. I glanced over at Steve and was amused to see that he looked like the epitome of smugness. Not to mention he had this look about him like he had just rolled out of bed. He was sitting back with his hands behind his head and a crooked smile plastered on his face as he monitored the screens. He looked so good sitting there that I had to look away to avoid the urge to jump on him.

"Hey—whoa—listen to this, you guys!" said Tango. "This is right before you guys got separated." He handed Steve the headphones first. Steve sat up in his seat and frowned. I received the headphones next and hesitantly put them up to my ears. Tango played the clip.

"…_Come here…to the door._" It was a very clear and raspy voice. I exchanged glances with the others.

"That…was creepy." I set the headphones down. "I don't think I want to hear that ever again." I sat back and took a deep breath trying to forget what I just heard.

"Hey guys, what's up?" We all looked up to see Kris walk in.

"Hey, listen to this and tell us what you think," said Tango, handing her the headphones. As she listened, her eyes widened considerably and she immediately looked at me.

"And this is when you went through the door to that tunnel?" I nodded and crossed my arms. Tango scribbled his findings down on his notepad, looking excited. I looked over at Steve, whose brow was furrowed in thought.

"What did you find?" Steve asked Kris. She pulled a chair up to the table and took some papers out of a folder.

"Not much, except for one bit of information that I had to dig to find. It seems like no one wants anyone to find out about it because it was fairly recent but it was hidden under a bunch of papers from the 50's." That got our undivided attention. "It turns out that there was a dead body found in the caves in 2001. It was an 18-year-old male caucasian. He actually was from Cranston, Rhode Island, but his family had reported him missing weeks before. Police ruled it a suicide. He was on methamphetamines and also had a blood-alcohol level that was way above legal limit. It turns out the tunnel they found him in was the same tunnel that Felina had her experience." Kris looked up from the papers she had been referring to and reddened slightly to see us all staring at her. "What? Is this good enough?"

"Good enough? You just hit pay dirt!" said Tango excitedly.

However, I was shocked hearing the news that someone from Cranston had been involved with all this.

"Can I see this for a second?" I said, gesturing to the paper. Kris handed it over to me. I scanned the text for anything specific about the guy's identity. According to the article, he was a Cranston East High School dropout. I looked through the other papers for a picture of some sort, but there wasn't any. This new bit of information piqued my curiosity. I had gone to the same high school and had graduated in 2001. Then the recurring dreams and my experience last night came back to me. I shook my head and put the papers back. It probably was just a coincidence.

* * *

Jay and Grant had been impressed with what we had found and were in high spirits going to the reveal. Afterwards, we all went to a country tavern and grill for dinner, courtesy of Jason and Grant. There was a live band playing and a dance floor where people were line dancing. Steve, who was more inclined to rock music, sat and stared in disbelief as someone in the band started playing a washboard with spoons. Me and Kris had gotten up to dance like idiots during "Boot Scootin' Boogie," and even got some good-looking cowboys to show us how to dance properly. The guys were sitting at the bar enjoying a few beers. Steve was watching me with an amused look on his face. I ran up to him and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon, let's dance." Steve didn't budge.

"No way," he said, taking a swig of beer. I jutted my bottom lip out and attempted to mimic Steve's puppy dog look. Steve saw it and looked away. "Not falling for it!" I batted my eyelashes pathetically. "Now you just look like my cat."

"Ugh, you're no fun!" I said, starting to walk away. I smirked when I noticed I was being followed. Steve grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side in a dark secluded corner.

"No fun, eh?" he whispered, trailing kisses all along the side of my neck. I tilted my head back to allow him better access and slid my arms around his shoulders.

"Mmm…Why don't you wanna dance?" I asked. He broke contact long enough to answer my question.

"Because I already 'danced' with you earlier." I giggled and ran my fingers through his hair as he continued his assault on my neck.

"That's not what I meant. C'mon! Boot Scootin' Boogie is easy!" I took his hands and tried to lead him out to the dance floor.

"I can't dance!" he protested.

"Oh, yes you can! Phew!" I pretended to wipe a hand across my brow which made Steve grin.

"Yes ma'am…you are welcome," said Steve in a fake southern accent and tipping his hat. I stared at him for a moment and then burst into giggles.

"I can't believe you just did a Bill Engvall imitation!" I said with glee. He took a swig of beer with a smirk on his face. "Please? Just one dance? Look, now they're playing Honkytonk Badonkadonk!"

"I'm not dancing to a song called 'Honkytonk Badonkadonk.' Besides, the only 'badonkadonk' I wanna see dance is yours." Steve pulled me close and kissed me keenly. We jumped apart when someone came stumbling around the corner.

"'Ey! This ain't the cafilities…sasilities…uh…b-bathroom!" slurred Tango. We stared.

"Dude, how many beers did you have?" asked Steve, sounding concerned.

"Three," replied Tango, looking proud. Steve nearly snorted beer out of his house.

Tango was never going to live that down.

* * *

I was in the dark tunnel once more. This time I had no flashlight to guide me and was running blindly. I felt the same dark presence behind me, the same cold chill, following me. I didn't know whether I was running towards the exit or not. I felt it at my back, clawing, trying to get a hold of me. I tried running faster, but it felt as if I was getting nowhere.

I sat up abruptly, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. I heard fumbling, then with a click the bedside lamp between the two beds came on. I blinked at Kris. I then blinked twice. My eyes widened. There was a black mass hovering right behind her.

"Kris, watch out!" To my horror, four red slits suddenly appeared across her throat. The light faded from her eyes and she fell forward lifelessly. "NO!"

"What the heck is going on in there?!" I heard pounding at the door. I shielded my eyes from the lamplight. I heard Kris running to answer the door but I couldn't see because my eyes hadn't adjusted.

"It's Felina," said Kris, sounding hysterical. "I don't know what happened but she started screaming and thrashing around and wouldn't stop!" I tried to sit up but my head was spinning out of control. I gave up and shut my eyes.

"Felina?" A cool hand pressed against my forehead and cheeks. "Geez, she's burning up." I felt the bed dip down beside me. A familiar scent. Steve's cologne that he wore when he wasn't working cases. I normally loved it, but right now it was making me nauseous.

"Are you awake, Fee?" I merely nodded. I was scared to open my mouth.

"What do you think? Should we take her to a hospital, Jay?" A larger and colder hand felt my forehead.

"We should to be on the safe side," said Jason. Then his tone changed to be gentler. "Felina? Can you get up for us?" I tried to sit up, but laid back down when my stomach rolled and my head spun.

"C'mon, Felina…I'll help you up." I opened my eyes a crack and saw the whole gang standing by my bedside. Steve took my arm and hooked it around his neck, then scooped me up to carry me bridal style. I rested my head against his shoulder and whimpered pathetically. I felt so terrible.

"Whoa, Steve, don't throw out your back," warned Grant.

"I won't." I felt movement, which made my head spin even more. I held on tight to Steve.

"Um…ok…I'll go get the van, then." I heard footsteps running off ahead. My eyes opened just a smidge and I saw we were moving down the hallway.

Everything went black after that.

I woke up to the sound of snoring. I looked to my left and saw Steve sitting slumped with his head bowed over his chest. My head was a little bit clearer and I no longer felt nauseous. The curtain surrounding us and the outside noise told me we were in the ER. I reached out and tapped Steve. He jerked up with a snort, but relaxed when he saw me. He ran a hand over my forehead and smiled softly.

"How're you doing, baby?" he sounded half asleep.

"Doing better," I replied. "That was terrible."

"Yeah, I was worried about you. It sounded like someone was being murdered in your room. You had a fever of 103-something. You've been sleeping for a while now." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I slowly stretched while still lying down.

"What time is it? Where's everyone else? Aren't we leaving today?" I asked. Steve checked his watch.

"It's 9:15 right now. Jason and Grant got their tickets refunded so they can drive the tech van back. They've already left after they checked us all out of the hotel and dropped Kris and Tango off at the airport. They said to call the minute we reach the next hotel."

"When are we leaving?" Gee, I was full of questions today.

"As soon as a nurse clears you."

"Did a nurse clear me?"

"Not yet."

"When will a nurse clear me?"

"When the nurse comes around."

"When is the nurse coming around?"

"…Felina?"

"Yes?"

"Be quiet."


End file.
